The Oath
The Oath is an episode of the TV series, Battlestar Galactica, and aired during the show's fourth season. In the previous episode, the fleet's leadership announced its plan to upgrade the fleet's jump drives using Cylon technology to triple its reach in searching for a final home. Felix Gaeta, betrayed by Cylons on several occasions, vehemently opposes the plan. Finally, he makes a pact with Tom Zarek, as of then not fully disclosed, to, in his words, rectify things that have gone wrong. The episode has a survivor count of 39,643 Plot Prelude In the opening moves of Lt. Felix Gaeta's revolution, Vice President Tom Zarek is successfully smuggled out of his cell with the help of Marines and pilots under his control. Noel "Narcho" Allison' '''and Private Paley meanwhile empty a small arms locker, which is used to arm the civilians loyal to Zarek. Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson makes a false declaration of a fuel leak in her Raptor to force an evacuation of the port hangar deck, but when the Raptor is prepared for take-off, Deck Chief Peter Laird tries to contact CIC over the unscheduled flight and is killed by Zarek. Lt. Gaeta is horrified at the act, as he held hopes for a bloodless coup, though Lt. Hamish "Skulls" McCall considers the death necessary as Chief Laird was loyal to Admiral William Adama. The attack takes place within eyeshot of Jeanne, one of the Monotheists in Dr. Gaius Baltar's cult. Act 1 Lt. Gaeta arrives at CIC in time to hear Lt. Hoshi report the unscheduled launch to Admiral Adama. Lt. Gaeta is quickly able to fool the rest of the crew that it is a "DRADIS Ghost", the result of malfunctioning equipment getting false-positives on ships that do not actually exist. Admiral Adama and Colonel Saul Tigh accept his claim, and move on to discussing the further use of ''Galactica s Marines onboard civilian ships following the recent incident on Hitei Kan while Lt. Hoshi runs checks to verify the existence or nonexistence of the ship. The Raptor arrives on Colonial One, allowing Zarek to greet the Quorum of Twelve, who are surprised to see him released from Galactica s brig so quickly, Lee Adama especially. Meanwhile, Diana Seelix approaches Samuel T. Anders in his quarters; initially discussing their time in the Caprican resistence together, she slowly raises his newly discovered Cylon identity and beats him. At CIC, Admiral Adama is told of a fire reported near Galactica swireless antenna array; believing the fire to be genuine, a team is sent to put it out. Aware the fire alarm is a false alarm, Lt. Gaeta suggests it could be sabotage, and Admiral Adama orders Marines to escort the crew, of whom Private Jaffee accompanies. At the same time, Kara Thrace teases Brendan "Hotdog" Constanza about finding out he is a father, but finds him unusually irritated with her. When they hear the fire alarm, the pilots evacuate the area. Thrace notices Allison has joined the apparent damage control team despite being a pilot; he is equally hostile towards her. When she spots a group of Marines and civilians moving together down a corridor, she investigates, and sees Charlie Connor - one of Anders' resistance fighters - is in command of them and is arming them. She quickly realises a mutiny is in progress and rushes to her quarters to arm herself. Calling CIC, she quickly realises Lt. Gaeta's involvement when he cuts off her call. On Colonial One, Lee Adama tries to get in touch with his father, but Lt. Gaeta feigns his business. When asked why the Admiral released Zarek, he pretends he had no idea of it. At the end of the call, Gaeta makes a false report about the ship's wireless going out along with its backups and prevents any more outbound calls. Having not gotten any answers from Lt. Gaeta, Lee insists on going back to Galactica to talk to his father, and takes off as a passenger on Lt. Edmondson's Raptor. Arriving on Galactica, he is quickly attacked by Lt. McCall, sees his death as the necessary punishment for his views in the Cylon repair crew controversy. Cpt. Thrace shoots the Marine ready to execute Lee and injured Lt. McCall in the leg as well to save him. In Karl Agathon's quarters, shouting can be heard along the corridor followed by shooting. While Sharon gets Hera ready for her daycare, he readies his sidearm. Specialist Gage enters with a group of rebels and the family is taken captive, with Agathon beaten as retribution for the death of Lt. Alistair Thorne on Pegasus. Act 2 Cpt. Thrace and Lee travel through Galactica, headed to CIC to report the mutiny. Attempting to use phones along the way, she finds they are all dead. Lee is disturbed by the inexplicable violence of his fellow pilots, but the two understand the rebels on the hangar deck were not the only rebels. As they move down the corridors, screams and gunshots echoe throughout. They spot one of the loyal Marines exchanging fire with rebel civilians, as well as an unarmed crewman, which confirms that only some of the crew is part of the mutiny. The Agathon family is sealed in the Cylon brig, where they find Anders is also captive. Caprica Six has her suspicions of what is to happen, and that her unborn child will be destroyed by the revolutionaries. At CIC, Private Jaffee rushes in to report the fire report was a hoax. Sensing his deceptions won't hold out any longer, Lt. Gaeta calls in his loyal Marines who detain the entire staff, including other Marines not part of the conspiracy. Pvt. Jaffee believes the Marines are about to assassinate Admiral Adama, and he is shot dead as he jumps in front of him. In the subsequent shootout, the mutineers hold out and Lt. Gaeta orders a cease fire so that Admiral Adama and Col. Tigh can be taken away to the brig, charged with treason, while other Marines hold the staff hostage to preserve ship functions. Act 3 Cpt. Thrace and Lee find President Laura Roslin asleep in Admiral Adama's quarters. With no way to get in contact with the fleet, President Roslin and the other two make their way to Dr. Baltar's chapel. The three arrive and as Dr. Baltar prepares to abandon his followers. Former Deck Chief Galen Tyrol has made contact with loyal crewmen and, armed with their own wireless systems, are able to continue reporting to one another. He reports that Admiral Adama is in custody, and directs them to a secondary airlock unused since before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Meanwhile, Admiral Adama and Col. Tigh manage to anger one of their marine escorts, Nowart, and snatch his gun to use on his fellow, Maldonado. President Roslin negotiates the use of Dr. Baltar's private wireless, which he accepts, despite his followers' insistence it is some sort of deception on her part. At CIC, Lt. Gaeta has resumed command, with Specialise Gage joining. Paulo "Redwing" McKay is ordered to take a Marine team to the engine room to take control of it. As Galactica is pestered with requests from ships in the fleet, Lt. Gaeta becomes aware of President Roslin's successful wireless message promoting a counterrevolution. Admiral Adama and Col. Tigh, still hosting Nowart hostage, run into Lee and Cpt. Thrace. When Cpt. Thrace shoots at a fleeing Nowart, she berates Admiral Adama for his objections. Act 4 President Roslin and Dr. Baltar head over to the airlock, where they are to escape for the Basestar. Dr. Baltar picks up a phone and tries to persuade Lt. Gaeta to stop the mutiny, which he refuses. Understanding Lt. Gaeta's feelings against the perceived traitors, he reminds him that he too was complicit in the Cylon occupation of New Caprica. Lt. Gaeta angrily hangs up. A Raptor crewed by a Number Eight takes off from the Basestar and docks with the airlock as Admiral Adama's group makes their arrival. Tyrol informs them that he is getting reports of a Marine detachment rushing to the airlock, and everyone but Tyrol; Admiral Adama and Col. Tigh get on board. Tyrol makes his escape through accessways to avoid detection, while the Admiral and Col. Tigh hold their ground to allow the Raptor's departure. The Marine detachment, led by Cpt. Aaron Kelly, start using welding torches to cut through the airlock door. Opening it up, they throw in a flashbang. Sources Category:Season 4 episodes Category:Episodes written by Mark Verheiden Category:Episodes directed by John Dahl